The Blizzard of 2017
Again, as always, the various families of the Harper Universe are together during a blizzard while they are hunkered down together at the Atchley Mansion Scene One In the Park Square area of Louisburg Square. Steps had been taken to preserve the keeping of outsiders out of the square, in the wake of Jennifer Barrett and her conniving friends vandalizing Aristedes the Just, meaning that only those who live in close proximity of the square can be allowed to be in there. Hence the presence of Ellie Forson as she is working on her Latin homework. She notices the slate dark sky. Like every other New Englander, she knows that a blizzard is coming soon. ELLIE: Court, we should go in. It looks like a storm once again. COURTNEY SUE: You're right there, sis. We should get back to the house. Mom will perhaps know what is going on. (Anyssa comes out. She is concerned.) ANYSSA: Girls, we're going to the Atchley Mansion. Another blizzard tonight. ELLIE: I figured as much, Mom. I was doing homework when I saw it. I could tell. ANYSSA: A true New Englander you are, my darling. COURTNEY SUE: Has everyone else been told? ANYSSA: Yes, honey. Sammy, Aidan and Derek are already over there. Maggie and Ashley were downtown and they were going to meet us there, Jolie and Cathy were going there to see Aunt Samantha, so they would be there now too. The rest of the families are all going to be meeting there. ELLIE: This seems like a tradition. ANYSSA: That it is, my dear. I remember when we had the entire family at the estate. ELLIE: Did we ever see the Estate? COURTNEY SUE: When Aunt Alexandra took us there, when she was at school. ELLIE: Oh, yeah. I remember that. The main house is used for classrooms now? COURTNEY SUE: Yep. Mom told me that she and Aunt Courtney had a great time when they were at the Academy. ELLIE: Wow! Mom was intrepid. (Anyssa laughs) ANYSSA: Not quite, sweetie. Remember, I divided my time between two schools. While I was at Harper for some classes, I was a student at Plaisance Academy in Chicago. That was my main school. COURTNEY SUE: The car is here. Aunt Hannah must have sent it. Time to go. ANYSSA: You're right, hon. Let's go. (They climb into the limo and it goes to the Atchley Mansion) Scene Two Some time later, the Atchley Mansion in Cambridge. Everyone is here. HANNAH: Once again, this is becoming our tradition. By now, we know the procedure. Everything is at your disposal. The staff is eager to help. The sleeping arrangements are the boys, Derek, Aidan and Sammy have their suite of rooms, the girls have their own suite of rooms. Everything is provided. The power plant is at full operation and the wires are underground, and are safe from winds and other storms. JACQUELINE: Indeed. I hope this year works better for me. LIBBY: It will, dear. I believe it will. (Everyone goes to do their own thing.) SHEILA: Glad you are back, Hannah. HANNAH: Me too, Sheila. SHEILA: Hannah, may I ask your advice? HANNAH: What's wrong, dear? Can't you ask Dyl? SHEILA: I wish I could. I don't know what to tell him. HANNAH: About what? SHEILA: Allen. He left the house last night. (Hannah is shocked and saddened that her sister's marriage has ended) HANNAH: What?! When? SHEILA: He and I talked. He wanted to go back to Merrillton. He's there now. HANNAH: Oh no! I hope you're not divorcing? SHEILA: We already did. It was a quiet affair, and it was rather amicable. I am single for the first time in many years. I am kind of worried. HANNAH: I am sorry, sis. Does Dylan know? SHEILA: Yes. I told him and so did Allen. HANNAH: Dear God. I hope he is all right. SHEILA: He is. He has me, and Adam, and you. HANNAH: And everyone else. You have us, babe. We've got one another's back. (Sheila, unusual for her, breaks down in Hannah's arms and sobs. Dylan comes over, sensing his sister's distress.) DYLAN: Sheila, what's wrong? SHEILA: It's Allen. It's so strange to be divorced from him now. DYLAN: I know, sweetie. You and I will get through it. You have me, sis. (Sheila falls in Dylan's arms and sobs. Dylan holds his sister close. Hannah comes up and hugs them as well) Scene Three Jacqueline is watching a movie. She is worried about Sheila and the sad announcement that had occurred that night, when she announced that she and Allen are divorced. JACQUELINE: I hope Sheila is going to be all right. MARILYN: I hope so too, darling. JACQUELINE: Dylan was holding her while she cried. (Enter Dylan and Sheila.) SHEILA: I am all right, Jacquie. I realized that it was about time. Allen and I had been ground into the machine called marriage. We don't regret things, and we parted amicably as friends. I just miss him around the house. Things are crazy. JACQUELINE: How did Cathy take it? SHEILA: She took it well. Allen and I have set up good visitation times. Allen will have her various months, while I have primary custody. MARILYN: That is good. Since the divorce wasn't acrimonious, there wasn't any anger and no angst. SHEILA: That's right. She's spared all that. JACQUELINE: So, what will happen now? SHEILA: I am not sure. I think I will be really busy with the company. With Dylan helping me, it will work out well DYLAN: And if you want, when we do things for the company and things, I would be PROUD to escort you. SHEILA: Thank you, my sweet. But you know you should be also escorting Adam. DYLAN: So, whos to say that I cannot escort my husband and my twin sister? SHEILA: True. (Enter Adam. He comes up to the family) ADAM: Sheila, I would be honored to have you and Dylan on my arm. SHEILA: Thank you, Adam. DYLAN: And think of it this way, sis. You are the lady of the house, as you ought to be. SHEILA (feeling loved): Thanks, you guys. (Dylan and Sheila go to the media room, along with Adam.) Scene Four At the Ritz Carlton. Jennifer is furious. Another blizzard and she is alone. JENNIFER: Damn it! Another damned blizzard and I am alone in this stupid room! I cannot get out to torment those stupid Harpers! I am stuck in this hotel with nothing to do! I'd watch TV, but the satellite TV is all messed up. But I DO know what I can do! (she calls the Bell Captain) BELL CAPTAIN: Yes, Ma'am? JENNIFER: This is Ms. Barrett in room 3425, can you have a man come up here? BELL CAPTAIN: I am afraid I cannot, Ms. Barrett! JENNIFER: Why? BELL CAPTAIN: I am not going to be your pimp for men! JENNIFER: I am a customer and I am entitled! BELL CAPTAIN: Fine! JENNIFER: I knew you would obey me! (A few minutes later, a knock at the door. Jennifer opens it, and she screams! On the other side of the door is an old man, of approximately 90!) OLD MAN: Ready to howl, baby? JENNIFER (screaming):' NOT WITH YOU, YOU OLD PERVERT! I AM GOING TO GET THAT BELL CAPTAIN FIRED! I SWEAR! GET OUT OF MY ROOM, YOU DAMNED OLD FOSSIL!' (Jennifer is infuriated!) Scene Five The power is still holding, even though it isn't at the Ritz, to Jennifer's disgust. Sheila is getting a good laugh out of something she sees on Facebook. DYLAN: What's so funny, sis? SHEILA: Get a load of this live video! (Dylan sees it and bursts out laughing!) DYLAN (laughing): I can't believe it! (Along comes Julia) JULIA: I see the merriment! What is it? DYLAN: Jennifer threw up a live video! (Julia sees it and laughs too!) JULIA: Oh my GOD! SHEILA: The man she is with is ANCIENT! DYLAN (howling): I've seen fossils younger than him! (All three are laughing fit to bust. Michelle comes in.) MICHELLE: What's so funny? JULIA: Jennifer Barrett made a royal fool of herself! MICHELLE: With whom? SHEILA: That old man! Apparently found by the bell captain at the Ritz! (Michelle looks at it, and she starts laughing as well!) MICHELLE: He's over 90! I am surprised he doesn't have a walker! SHEILA (laughing): Mom! MICHELLE (still laughing): She deserves him! DYLAN: You tell 'em, Mom! (Michelle hugs her children. She is so pleased that she has her twins together again) MICHELLE: I love you both very much, with all my heart. SHEILA: Thanks for being there for me, Mom. Especially with what happened. MICHELLE: Of course, honey. DYLAN: We're going to be there for you, Sheila. We love you, hon. MICHELLE: And we will always be there for you. (Sheila feels the love of her mother and her brother.) Scene Six The Ritz. Jennifer is screaming and running away from her unsuitable suitor! The ninety something old man is trying to get to her. JENNIFER: Get away from me, you old bag! OLD MAN: Aw, come on, baby! JENNIFER: You stupid old fossil! Leave me ALONE! I'll call hotel security! OLD MAN: They won't come, the Bell Captain personally guaranteed it! JENNIFER: You stinking old fool! I will NOT allow you to touch me! OLD MAN: Aw, come on! You'll like it! JENNIFER: I will not allow you near me! OLD MAN: Look at your computer. Look what I did! (Jennifer is horrified. The camera is running, and the video is going viral!) JENNIFER: YOU MISERABLE SON OF A BITCH! YOU FILMED THIS?!!!! I WILL KILL YOU, YOU DAMNED OLD PERVERT! OLD MAN: No, you won't! Because in the event I die, I have sent this video to EVERY place in Greater Boston! Nobody will have a good word to say to you! Marry me, if you don't, I will destroy your reputation! JENNIFER (sputtering): This is BLACKMAIL! OLD MAN: Your own tactic coming back to haunt you! JENNIFER: You damned son of a bitch! ALL RIGHT! I'll marry your feeble ass! OLD MAN: That's better! Now, I know you have very extravagant tastes, but you will learn to live very simply! JENNIFER: What the hell do you mean by THAT, you stupid man?! OLD MAN: I know you love living the wealthy life, but I am very dirt poor! JENNIFER: Well, to hell with YOU! I am not gonna marry you! I don't give a damn about your damned blackmail. I will NOT marry an old fossil like you! OLD MAN: Then I post this video all over the country! Your name will be a laughingstock! JENNIFER: I don't give a damn! OLD MAN: Then, I shall send it! (He hits the toggle switch marked "Share") There we go, ALL done! JENNIFER: You damned son of a bitch! I will have you LYNCHED for this! OLD MAN: Not quite! (All of a sudden, he has a heart attack!) Good bye, you evil witch! You're finished here! (The man slumps to the floor! He is dead! Jennifer, for the first time in her selfish, self-centered life, is truly scared now! The hotel security comes in and pulls the dead man out. They have Jennifer's belongings packed, and she and her belongings are chucked out into the blizzard!) JENNIFER: GOD DAMN YOU! YOU ARE A DISGUSTING ESTABLISHMENT! I WILL FIND ANOTHER HOTEL! A HOTEL WORTHY OF ME! MANAGER: Don't bet on it! You've been blacklisted from every hotel in Boston! JENNIFER: GOD DAMN YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU LOSE BUSINESS I WILL! MANAGER: Ha! You won't! All you're good for is a sleazebag motel on the Lynn-Way! JENNIFER: Up yours, you Bastard! (A furious Jennifer takes the T, which is STILL running in spite of the blizzard, over to Lynn where she stays in a flea-bag motel on the Lynn-Way! When she goes in, she flops down on the bed, and she sobs. The evil woman doesn't seem to care! She again mourns what she lost and the reputation that she felt she had, but never had! She glares at the mirror and in a fury throws a stone at the mirror, and shatters it!) Scene Seven Back at the Atchley Mansion. Anyssa is talking to her sister, Susie. ANYSSA: It's horrid. I don't know if you heard about what happened with Sheila. SUSANNAH: Yes, I did. She called me and told me. How is she? ANYSSA: She is fine. She and Dylan are hanging in there. They were watching a video and were laughing about it. She's coming out of the mist. SUSANNAH: I was wondering what that was. What were they laughing about? ANYSSA: Oh, Susie, you will love this one! Jennifer Barrett was dealing with a 90 year old man at the Ritz. He apparently put it online for the world to see! SUSANNAH: Oh my goodness! I bet she was FURIOUS! ANYSSA (laughing): She was so mad, smoke was coming out of her ears! SUSANNAH: Who sent that fool up? ANYSSA: The Bell Captain of the Ritz! SUSANNAH: You're kidding?! ANYSSA: Nope. The video has gone viral! SUSANNAH: Yes, it has. ANYSSA: What do we do? SUSANNAH: She brought this on herself, let her clean it up! ANYSSA: You're right. She got herself in this mess, she can jolly well clean it up! SUSANNAH: That's my girl! How's Dylan? ANYSSA (grinning affectionately): Dylan is all right. He's been fantastic for his sister. They are so helping one another. SUSANNAH: That is great. They have always been close. ANYSSA: When do you think you and Ellen can come back to visit? SUSANNAH: Ellen has been working hard at the hospital, and she has been trying to take some time off, but with her it is hard to say. Patrick and I are still doing wonderfully. We'll try to get there soon. But hope you are all safe. ANYSSA: We are. Thanks, Susie. Talk to you soon. Love ya, honey. SUSANNAH: Love you too, darling. (Anyssa ends the call. Ardith comes over.) ARDITH: How are things, my dear? ANYSSA: Susie and the others are fine. I wanted to call her to let her know about what is going on. ARDITH: Family can be quite a tough row to hoe, can't it? ANYSSA: You know it too well. ARDITH: Yes, I do. It was hard enough to deal with Steven and Nigel when they were small. Although Steven was a very polite person, Nigel wasn't. Maybe it was no wonder Erica was so attracted to him. ANYSSA: Wait a second, you knew about them? ARDITH: My dear, there are so many things about the Bennett family that they think I don't know, but I did. Elspeth knew that I knew. But she knew that I would not say anything about it to anyone. The family doesn't know that I know. Although most of them suspect that I know, they won't call me out on it. Elspeth won't; Maranda certainly wouldn't. Neither would Steven or Samantha. The only one who would, would have been Nigel, but he is dead, and he cannot harm anyone else. ANYSSA: You are right. Nigel was the troublemaker. (Along comes Elspeth.) ELSPETH: My son was a pain, that is for sure. But Ardith is right. Nigel would have blabbed it all over London. ANYSSA: Indeed. ELSPETH: Don't worry, my dear. Nigel is dead and gone. He was murdered in prison and the world is safer because of it. ANYSSA: I just hope he is under ground for good. ELSPETH: I know he is, darling. (Anyssa is secure on that one) Scene Eight Lynn. The manager of the motel is yelling and screaming at Jennifer for smashing the mirror. JENNIFER: You are OUT of your mind! MANAGER: You shattered that mirror with a stone. You are paying for damages! JENNIFER: What?! In THIS rathole?! MANAGER: Yes, in this so-called "rathole", you caused damage! JENNIFER: All right, you simpleton. How much do I owe? MANAGER: $200 JENNIFER (annoyed): All right, you cretin! (She pulls money out of her purse) There's your damned $200! Choke on it! MANAGER: I want you out of here in the morning! JENNIFER: Go to hell! I paid for two months! MANAGER: Fine, I'll honor that. But no more! JENNIFER: Get out of here! MANAGER: I'll have the mirror replaced here in the morning. JENNIFER: Fine. See you then. (The manager leaves. Jennifer flings herself on her hard bed. She swears and curses.) Scene Nine Atchley Mansion. Sheila and Dylan are talking. SHEILA: I am feeling better. It still stings, to be sure, but its better than it was. DYLAN: The video of Jennifer dealing with that old man help? SHEILA (grinning): Yes, it did. More than you know. DYLAN: You know, sis, I have a fantastic idea. Once this blizzard is out of the way, you and I are gonna have a siblings day together. Just you and me. No kids, no spouse, nothing. You and I are going to go somewhere good and we're going to paint the town red! SHEILA (brightening): And I know just the place. And it works out well for us. I have to be in NYC this week, for a buying spree at H&M. I know you are not much of a fan of shopping, but we can deal with that. I can send a personal shopper to get that done. We're going to have a blast for a few days. You need some new clothes too, my dear, and I will have a male personal shopper take care of you. The pluses of being a fashion house maven. DYLAN: Thank you, hon. All those years, we were always close and we were played off as cousins. I cannot believe that Shelby could do that to me. SHEILA: I know. She did us a lot of damage. I can see the damage that she did to you. We twins notice this. Just as you saw my grief of my marriage ending, I can see the pain you are dealing with as well. DYLAN: Yes, we do know this. SHEILA: And this trip is what we need to shake off the cobwebs. DYLAN: And we're going to have a blast! SHEILA: Yes, we will. (The twins hug one another and they begin to whisper and giggle, as they did when they were kids. The scene fades.) Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila Category:Episodes featuring Anyssa and Susannah Category:Episodes featuring Jacqueline Haller Category:Episodes featuring Anngelique Minzell